Briefly: The Michael Bay-produced, Jonathan Liebesman-directed reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be coming out of the sewer a few weeks later than planned. Originally set for release June 6, 2014, it’ll now be released August 8, 2014. That’s one week after Guardians of the Galaxy and one week before The Expendables 3.

The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Whoopi Goldberg and William Fichtner in human roles. Alan Ritchson,Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard and Pete Ploszek are the Turtles. [ERC Box Office]

Last week’s confirmation that William Fichtner would play Shredder in Jonathan Liebesman‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot didn’t come as much of a shock. His role was described in the initial casting report as an “iconic” one from the Turtles universe, and aside from the Turtles themselves, they don’t get much more iconic than Shredder.

But it did raise some eyebrows. Shredder has always been a Japanese man, and Fichtner, talented as he is, is not that. Surprise surprise, it turns out Liebesman made Fichtner fit by altering the classic character. Hit the jump to learn more about the new version.

Next month, William Fichtner will get to terrorize a few beloved pop culture figures in The Lone Ranger. Next summer, he’ll get to do more of the same, but with a different set of classic characters.

Weeks after his casting was first announced, Fichtner has confirmed that he will star as the villainous Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from director Jonathan Liebesman. Previously, we knew only that he’d play someone “with iconic stature in the Turtles’ mythology.” Read his comment on the character after the jump.

One of the more interesting aspects of Jonathan Liebesman‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been the rather eclectic casting. Sure, hiring Megan Fox as April O’Neil was a fairly obvious choice, considering her connection to producer Michael Bay. But Will Arnett was a fun pick to play April’s cameraman and rival Vernon Fenwick, and Danny Woodburn and William Fichtner were intriguing additions as well.

The latest star to join the cast was Whoopi Goldberg, another pretty unexpected name. It wasn’t immediately obvious whom she’d be playing, but we now have word that her character will also be connected to the Channel 6 News team. Hit the jump to find out who she is.

Heroes in mo-cap, CG power! After a few days of Megan Fox on the set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the stars of the film have finally surfaced from the sewer. Actors Noel Fisher (Michelangelo) Jeremy Howard (Donatello) and Pete Ploszek (Leonardo) have been spotted on the set of the Jonathan Liebesman film in full motion-capture garb.

Of course, we’ve all seen what motion capture suits look like before, but there are a few subtle differences here. First, the motion capture is being done outside and not on a closed set; that’s a technique that was revolutionized on Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Second, each actor has a massive mo-cap shell on their back. And third, they’re all sporting arm bands to corrospond to their character’s color.

But wait there’s more! The photos also reveal our first look at what is seems to be Shredder’s Foot Soldiers, and even a major plot point.

Update:Deadline adds that William Fichtner has joined the cast, playing an unidentified lead role “with iconic stature in the Turtles’ mythology.”

The biggest “of course” news of the day comes from the set of the Michael Bay-produced, Jonathan Liebesman-directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. At one point the film was going to be called Ninja Turtles, but script issues (and just a dose of Internet venom) delayed the film and changed some key elements. One of those changes is the title, which thanks to the set photo above, we can now resume discussing under the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I think it’s safe to say that the casting of the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has met with less than glowing response so far. Megan Foxhas been cast as April O’Neil, and Alan Ritchson, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard and Noel Fisher are announced as the physical actors who will mo-cap the four turtles.

Now there’s a new talent in the mix, as Will Arnett has been announced as part of the cast. Read More »

Though Leonardo is generally considered the leader of the gang, Raphael was the first Turtle cast last week when The Hunger Games: Catching Fire actor Alan Ritchson boarded director Jonathan Liebesman and producer Michael Bay‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot last week.

But apparently the rest of the group weren’t too far behind. Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, and Noel Fisher have just been cast as Leonardo, Donatello, and Michaelangelo, respecitvely. The roles will be portrayed via motion capture. Hit the jump for more info.

Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has was met with suspicion from the get-go, and every move has just seemed to irritate fans more. The latest debacle was the casting of producer Michael Bay‘s one-time nemesis Megan Fox as April O’Neil — not really the best way to convince audiences that TMNT wouldn’t just be a Transformers rehash.

Where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman has been vocal about his support of the film (which likely has something to do with the fact that he’s been involved all along), co-creator Peter Laird has been far more critical of the endeavor. And he’s no happier about the casting of Fox than other TMNT fans have been. Hit the jump to keep reading.

Last summer, we got word that Paramount’s Michael Bay-produced, Jonathan Liebesman-directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot had been delayed by a whole six months to retool the script, perhaps in reaction to some of the fan outrage over changes to the turtles’ origin story.

Now it’s being pushed back yet again, though not by nearly as much. The film is still planned for summer 2014, but will now open later than originally announced. What’s more interesting is that the title may have changed. As of last year, it was going by the name Ninja Turtles, but most of the recent reports refer to it as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Hit the jump to keep reading.